Runaway, runaway
by Acadjonne d'la Baie
Summary: A young girl named Liesel, on the runs from her well-off foster father and his bounty hunters, ends up in the care of Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Will she end up becoming part of their family, or will her fear of being hurt drive her away from them? Rated T for mentions of child abuse and violence.
1. Runaway, runaway

Thirteen year old Liesel Wilson's feet pounded hard on the pavement of a New York City street, the two bounty hunters slowly but surely closing in. She'd been running nonstop for nearly three days, and her energy, which was quickly dwindling, had come from the few hours of sleep she'd gotten in the last couple of days. If her situation wasn't already bad enough, Liesel was also struggling to run with her uncomfortably tight shoes.

Being in the Foster Care system wasn't exactly an ideal way to grow up. Between the constant shipment from one house to another, the abusive parents and the drunks, Liesel often wondered why she couldn't just stay with her biological mother. Sure, the woman lived in a homeless shelter and worked too hard for too little, but it was better than being a punching bag for a dozen or so men who couldn't control their rage or sober up. The whole system was flawed.

If being in an abusive home hadn't been bad enough for the thirteen year old, then the fact that her ex foster father was pretty much set for life was just icing on the cake. That was the reason Liesel was running, after all. Daddy gets mad because the kid is gone and social services will cancel the checks adding to his wealth, so he calls a couple of criminal hunting halfwits to get baby girl back, only to start beating on her again. If social services ever had an idea of how most foster parents treated the kids, then they sure as heck never cared enough to do anything about it.

At this point, Liesel was panting hard, and if she could throw Dumb and Dumber off her trail for about half an hour, then she could find a place to eat and catch her breath. Sadly, luck didn't seem to be on her side today, because halfwit number one managed to grab ahold of the back of her oversized denim jacket, effectively throwing her back. He lifted her up, and she flailed and kicked and screamed, and he simply blocked her out by covering her mouth. That was when Liesel decided she was done letting them treat her like prey, and she bit down on the burly hand as hard as she possibly could. The man yelped loudly, alerting his partner, who'd been making sure they weren't being watched, and the other man ran over to try and grab Liesel when the first man nursed his hand, but the girl kicked the second man behind the knees, effectively knocking him over, and then kicked the man in the stomach. With the both of them unable to stop her, Liesel Wilson ran.

When she'd been moving for about half an hour after loosing the bounty hunters, Liesel finally stopped for some food. She had ten dollars in her pocket, the remnant of fifty dollars she'd had when she left her foster home. She hadn't anticipated for food to be as expensive as it was, but decent wasn't cheap, as Liesel had discovered. So, when she got to the McDonald's, she wasn't surprised when a six piece nugget and small shake blew the rest of her cash.

Even though she was on the run, Liesel took her time eating her food, and thought back to the events of the last three days while she ate. What caused her to start running from bounty hunters, in the first place? Liesel supposed it had something to do with when she'd gone to Central Park the first day she ran off. She was supposed to meet a social services agent at the 59th Street entrance, but she hadn't seen them in the part of the park they were supposed to meet, so she'd asked a young boy if he'd seen the social services agent. When Liesel thought back to it, she probably should have asked someone else about her social service agent, because the kid she'd asked looked like he lived a pretty good life compared to hers. Either way, he would have had a family and she didn't.

Family. It was a word that never meant much to Liesel. She knew what it was, and what families were supposed to be, but she'd never actually had a real family to begin with, so she didn't have any particular liking of the word. Liesel's mother had been young when she had her daughter, only eighteen, and Liesel's dad had left before she was ever born. No one from her mom's family had really helped out Ms. Wilson, her father had decided he wanted nothing to do with his grand-daughter, and Liesel's aunt lived too far away to be of any help, so it was just Liesel and her mother.

Sadly, her little world of infantile happiness hadn't lasted very long. When her daughter was two, Ms. Wilson had become involved with the wrong kind of people and been arrested, and her daughter went to foster care at three, after Liesel's aunt and godmother both refused to take care of the girl. Liesel and Ms. Wilson had kept in touch, though, and even though they both left some details out in the letters they wrote each other, they knew the gist of what the other was doing.

Liesel's mother had been let out of prison when her daughter was six, and because of her criminal record, was unable to get a steady job. She had ended up living in a homeless shelter and working as many as ten jobs a month to support herself, and Ms. Wilson always made sure to put money aside to get her daughter something nice for her birthday. The most recent gift had been a stuffed animal, bought after Liesel had asked for it, having not had one as a young child.

By the time Liesel had finished her meal, it was already dark, and she set out to try and find some sort of sheltered place to sleep. She ended up in a high-end apartment complex, crammed up underneath the stairs, but it was better than the places she'd slept the past two nights, and she was out of the rain that had began shortly after she came in.

Liesel reached into her backpack and pulled out the stuffed platypus she'd received for her last birthday, and used it as a found she was having a hard time falling asleep that night, but it was too dark to try and read in one of the three books she'd managed to fit into the old dirty pack she'd brought with her. Instead, she quietly zipped the pack again and reached into her oversized jacket for her locket. It was dirty and was starting to rust, but it held the only picture of Liesel and her mother that the thirteen year old had, so it was very dear to her.

As Liesel stared at the picture, she found her eyelids growing heavy. Eventually, it was getting to be too much to keep them open. Liesel Wilson closed her eyes and fell asleep, her left hand curling tightly around the open locket in it, and for the first time in forever, dreamed of a happy family.


	2. Sherman's Discovery

**AN: Okay, after nearly a week, I can finally update! It took longer then I thought, but I wanted to finish the third chapter before posting this one.**

**Also, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, and/or favourited this story. It means a lot to me that so many people liked this story.**

**Okay, so I have something to ask everyone. The title for this fic, Runaway, runaway, is just something I wrote because I couldn't think of a better title. If you have any suggestions for a better title, please feel free to PM or leave it in the form of a review.**

**Alright, I'll stop wasting your time with this AN. Now, for the story!**

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_"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited; imagination encircles the world." Albert Einstein_

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Early on a Tuesday morning in the heart of New York City, a young boy by the name of Sherman was slowly waking up. He stretched out his arms, and he yawned, and then he got dressed and brushed his teeth before going out of his bedroom and into the kitchen of the penthouse apartment his father owned.

In the kitchen, the boy's adoptive father, a dog prodigy named Mr. Peabody, was just finishing up making breakfast for his adopted boy, Sherman. He noticed the six year old walking into the kitchen, and placed the plate of the child's food by his chair at the table. Sherman sat down, and he and Mr. Peabody ate their bacon and eggs together, discussing the day's planned activities.

"Can we go to Central Park this morning, Mr. Peabody?"Sherman asked. Even though the boy was brilliant for his age, he was still a six year old that had quite a bit of energy.

"Of course, Sherman." Mr. peabody said. "We can go to Central Park this morning, have lunch in town, and then go visit William Shakespeare this afternoon in the WABAC."

After the pair finished their breakfast, Mr. Peabody and Sherman did the dishes and then put them to dry before getting some things and hopping in the elevator to go to Central Park. On the way down, they were silent, Mr. Peabody enjoying the time he was spending with his boy, and Sherman thinking of what he would play at the park.

When they got off the elevator and passed through the lobby, Sherman stopped when he noticed something under the stairs, but Mr. Peabody kept walking until he reached the door and noticed that his boy had stopped by the staircase. He walked over to see what Sherman had found.

Underneath the staircase, curled up and fast asleep clutching a stuffed toy, was a young girl about twelve or thirteen, and only three or four inches taller than Sherman. She had on a denim jacket that seemed to big for her short and slender frame, a worn red tee shirt, some ripped and stained jeans that were a couple of inches too short for the girl, and from up close Mr. Peabody could tell that her brown loafers were half a size too small for her feet.

"What are we going to do, Mr. Peabody?" Asked Sherman, a bit curious about the girl. Sherman was still young and somewhat naïve, so he didn't understand why she was dirty and her clothes didn't fit, but Mr. Peabody had his suspicions that she'd run away from home.

"I don't know, Sherman. I'm unsure weather we should wake her and take her back up to the apartment or stay here and wait until she wakes up by herself." Mr. Peabody replied. Sadly, it appeared he and Sherman hadn't been speaking quietly enough, and the girl started waking up.

* * *

It seemed that Liesel had only been asleep for a few minutes when she woke up to the sound of two unfamiliar voices talking not too far away from her. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, the voices had stopped, and she felt like she was being watched, but she took no notice until she looked toward the exit of her little hideaway under the stairs that she saw where the voices had come from.

Standing there blocking her escape was a young boy, about six years old, with a white shirt and black shorts on on, round, retro styles black glasses, and a messy mop of red hair. Next to him was a white dog about the same height as the boy, who was standing on his hind paws, and wearing the same style of glasses and had a red bow tie. For a moment, Liesel thought she recognized the dog from somewhere, but brushed it off.

"Hello." She said awkwardly, hugging her toy platypus closer to her. The little boy took a step closer to her, but the dog held out a paw to the boy, and then the dog spoke.

"Hello there. I'm Mr. Peabody, and this is my adopted son, Sherman." The dog, Mr. Peabody, said.

"I'm Liesel." Liesel told the two.

"Why are you sleeping under the stairs, Liesel?" Sherman asked. Liesel answered,

"Because I'm hiding."

"What are you hiding from?" Mr. Peabody asked.

"My foster dad." Liesel told him.

"Why are you hiding from your dad?" Sherman asked. He didn't understand why she hiding from her dad, and he didn't know what "foster" meant.

"Because he's not my real dad." Liesel said.

"But where's your real dad?" Sherman asked. "And your mom?" Liesel looked away at the mention of her biological parents, and Mr. Peabody decided to intervene.

"I think we've asked enough questions, Sherman." He said gently, but his voice had a hint of firmness to it. "Liesel, why don't you come up to our apartment for a little bit, hmm?" Mr. Peabody asked.

"That's okay. I don't want to bother you." Liesel said. Mr. Peabody shook his head.

"You don't have to worry about it, it will be no trouble at all. You can have a little something to eat and then call someone to come pick you up." Mr. Peabody told Liesel, careful of his words. It was obvious to him Sherman didn't understand the concept of foster parents, but he knew that it wasn't an exactly ideal way to raise a child. Much to his relief, though, Liesel accepted his offer to come back up to his apartment.

When they were back to the penthouse, it was obvious to Mr. Peabody and Sherman that Liesel wasn't used to being in places as grand and large as their dwellings. After getting over her initial shock, Liesel accepted the plate of toast Mr. Peabody gave her, and after she finished, she dialled the number to the Social Services office. During the phone call, Mr. Peabody and Sherman had gone into the living room.

"Hi, this is Liesel Wilson. I'd like to speak with my case worker." Liesel told the woman on the other end of the line. She was asked her case worker's name, and then was told the case worker wasn't in the office that day. After inquiring a bit more, Liesel found that Mrs. Roberts, the case worker in question, was on vacation for the week, and would only be returning the next Wednesday. It took a few more minutes to discuss a solution to the current situation, and then Liesel hung up the phone. She walked back into Mr. Peabody's living room to find the dog and his son playing with some cards. When they didn't notice she'd arrived, they kept playing, and Liesel watched for a few minutes as Mr. Peabody won their game of Crazy Eights. As Mr. Peabody cleaned up the cards, Sherman finally noticed Liesel standing in the doorway.

"Hi!" He said, and waved to her from across the room. Liesel waved silently back, and stepped over tom where the two were. Mr. Peabody stood up.

"Mr. Peabody," Liesel asked. "May I speak to you for a minute?" Mr. Peabody nodded, and then turned to Sherman.

"Sherman, why don't you go pick out a board game and bring it back over here. We can all play together." Mr. Peabody said. Sherman nodded, and ran towards his bedroom to find a board game.

"Now, Liesel, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Mr. Peabody sat down on the couch, and motioned for the girl to sit next to him. Liesel complied.

"Well, I just found out that my case worker at the Social Services is out of town until next week, and I don't really have anywhere to stay..." Liesel trailed off. Mr. Peabody smiled softly.

"Of course you can stay here, Liesel. I don't see why not." He told her. Liesel looked down at her hands, which now rested in her lap.

"Well, for starters, you don't actually know me." Liesel pointed out. Mr. Peabody shook his head.

"Well, we can get to know you while we play our board game. How about that?" Mr. Peabody said, just as Sherman walked in.

"What's going on?" The boy asked, as he walked over to his father and his new friend.

"Well, Sherman," Mr. Peabody explained, "Due to a slight change of plans, Liesel will be staying here for the week. Because we don't know her very well, and because you chose to play Monopoly, every time someone rolls doubles, we will say something about ourselves that either Liesel doesn't know about us, or that we don't know about her. How does that sound?" Mr. Peabody asked. Liesel and Sherman both nodded, and within ten minutes, the three were in the middle of a rousing game of Monopoly.


	3. Say you'll stay

**AN: Third chapter, hope everyone likes it.**

**As far as the new title goes, I will be creating a poll on my profile with the options. Hopefully, everyone will get a chance to vote.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the third chapter, and please, read and review!**

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_"Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?" Rose Kennedy_

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~One week later~

Liesel was fidgeting in her seat while she waited for Mr. Peabody to come back up with Mrs. Roberts from the lobby. The week with Peabody and Sherman had been great, and she'd had a lot of fun, but now that her case worker was picking her up she knew her fun was over. The elevator door dinged open, and Sherman landed on the floor with a loud THUD! Liesel might have laughed at his silliness, but it was seven am, and she was nearly half asleep in her chair. Instead, she stood up and helped the young red head back onto the couch. When Mr. Peabody and Mrs. Roberts came into the living room, they were talking about how the week had been with Liesel around.

"I have to admit, it's surprising to hear that she seemed to enjoy staying here. Normally, she's very adamant about leaving a foster home." Mrs. Roberts told Mr. Peabody. Liesel rolled her eyes. She knew her case worker was only trying to tease her.

"Mrs. Roberts, do you always have to tease me?" Liesel laughed. Her case worker smiled, and ruffled Liesel's ginger hair, which caused the thirteen year old to then duck away from the woman's hand.

"Well, Liesel, have you enjoyed your week with Mr. Peabody and Sherman?" Mrs. Roberts asked, changing the subject. "Mr. Peabody told me he enjoyed having you."

"I did, as did Sherman." Mr. Peabody agreed. "He's so full of energy, it's amazing Liesel was able to keep up."

"Well, Liesel?" Mrs. Roberts asked.

"It was fun here with Mr. Peabody and Sherman." Liesel explained. "I think the last time I had this much fun was with my mother."

"Oh, well, that's good to hear. I've never heard you compare a home to how much you enjoy your mother's company." Mrs. Roberts said. Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Mrs. Roberts spoke up again. "Liesel, how would you feel about staying here a while longer? That is, if Mr. Peabody and Sherman are okay with it."

"Oh, I have no objections to it." Mr. Peabody said. "What about you, Sherman? Sherman!" The six year old had been asleep in his seat, but hearing his father call for him, he woke with a start, and once again fell onto the floor. Both Liesel and Mr. Peabody helped the child up, and he thanked them before asking what was happening.

"Sherman," Mr. Peabody began, "this is Mrs. Roberts. She's in charge of making sure Liesel is safe, and she wants to know how you'd feel if Liesel stayed longer."

Sherman nodded. "So Liesel isn't leaving?" Sherman asked. He really liked Liesel, and he didn't really want he to leave, so he was happy to hear she might end up staying.

"To be completely honest," Liesel said, "I don't really want to leave."

Mrs. Roberts smiled. If wasn't often Liesel was happy to stay somewhere longer than she had to, so to have her admit that she didn't wan to leave Mr. Peabody and Sherman. It made the woman almost want to believe in miracles.

* * *

With a bit more discussion, it was decided that Mr. Peabody would be permitted to be Liesel's new foster father. Mrs. Roberts gave Mr. Peabody temporary custody of Liesel that would last until all the forms and papers were approved and filed, and Mr. Peabody would be listed as Liesel's official foster father.

Of course, seeing a Social Service worker being escorted to an apartment by Mr. Peabody, arguably one of the smartest beings on earth, arose a bit of suspicion, seeing as the dog had adopted a son seven years prior. So the press had a bit of a field day when Peabody came down the stairs to lead the worker to the door, followed closely by his son, and a young girl a few years older than the boy. Even though they all stayed a respectable distance away from the trio, a hailstorm of questions was thrown their way, many of which involved wether or not mr. Peabody was adopting the girl.

The questions, of course, made Liesel nervous. The whole presence of the media and their cameras made the thirteen year old want to hide behind either Mr. Peabody or Sherman, but she was taller than the two of them, so it would be futile. Lucky for her, Mr. Peabody knew how to deal with them.

He calmly told the reporters that he had no comment to make, and then he, Sherman, and Liesel all went back to the penthouse. It had been a bit of a long day for Liesel, but it was only half past noon, so while lunch was cooking, the teen went back to the bedroom Mr. Peabody had let her stay in.

While Mr. Peabody was making lunch, Sherman sat at the table, watching his father maneuver around the kitchen. He was also thinking, he wanted to ask Mr. Peabody if they could tell Liesel about the WABAC, but he wasn't exactly sure how. Finally, the six year old decided to simply ask, no sugar coating or anything. Just asking, straight forward.

"Mr. Peabody, do you think we could show Liesel the WABAC after lunch?" Sherman asked. Mr. Peabody turned for a moment to look at his son. So Sherman had been thinking the same thing.

Mr. Peabody had also supposed they could show Liesel the WABAC, seeing as she would be staying with them indefinitely.

"Of course, Sherman. We'll eat lunch first, and then we'll show Liesel the WABAC." The genius told his son. The six year old, now extremely excited, couldn't wait to show his friend the WABAC, and during the meal, Sherman kept fidgeting in his seat. Liesel didn't understand why the boy was so excited, so she just shrugged his behaviour off as being happy that she could stay with Mr. Peabody and Sherman a bit longer.

After lunch, Mr. Peabody did the dishes. Liesel and Sherman were in the living room, Sherman was playing with his toy cars, and Liesel was reading one of the books Mr. Peabody had in a bookshelf in the penthouse living room. Once Mr. Peabody finished the dishes, he went into the living room, and led Sherman and Liesel to the elevator. Sherman raced to the elevator, excited beyond words, but Liesel took her time, bringing the book she'd been reading with her. It was a bit of wonder to see Liesel with the book, she'd just kept on reading, only looking up to make sure she wouldn't hit into anything.

Once the trio was inside the elevator and Mr. Peabody had hit the button to take them to the WABAC, the ride was rather silent, for the first part. Eventually, Mr. Peabody decided an explanation may be in order.

"Now, Liesel," he began. "What Sherman and I are about to show you is called the WABAC. It has the capabilities to travel trough time, and to different locations, and it is very important that you keep the WABAC a secret. Do you understand?" Mr. Peabody asked.

"Wait, are you telling me you have a vessel that can travel through time and space?" She asked. Peabody nodded. "And it actually works?" He nodded again. "You mean, kinda like the Doctor's TARDIS?"

"A bit. But I'm no Doctor Who, and the WABAC can't travel into the future, save for when we return from the past." Mr. Peabody replied.

"Mr. Peabody, what's Doctor Who?" Sherman asked.

"Doctor Who is a British Science Fiction show that first aired on November 23rd, 1963." Liesel answered. Sherman gaped at the teen while Mr. Peabody smiled. She was a bit of an intelligent girl. "What? I like to watch it. It's actually really interesting to watch an alien running around in a bow tie and a fez."

After that, they entered the room where the WABAC was kept. Even though Mr. Peabody had told Liesel he had a time machine, she was still awestruck she first saw it, and stood a few feet away, while Mr. Peabody and Sherman entered. Mr. Peabody looked back at her, and gestured for Liesel to enter. She did as told.

Inside the WABAC, Liesel had to fight the urge to remark how it seemed almost bigger on the inside. Instead, she sat down on a chair that Mr. Peabody had made appear, almost like magic, but it was actually just a computer. They didn't take off right away though, because Mr. Peabody was giving Liesel to take it all in. The WABAC truly was remarkable.

After about fifteen minutes of just sitting there, Liesel finally spoke up.

"This is, well, for lack of better word, fantastic." She told Mr. Peabody.

"Thank you. Now, where would you like to go first?" Mr. Peabody asked. Liesel looked down at the book still in her lap. Now that they were inside the WABAC, Mr. Peabody could see that the book she'd been reading was A Left Handed History of The World. A good read, Mr. Peabody thought, as Liesel flipped through to a random page.

"Leonardo da Vinci." She said. Mr. Peabody began typing the coordinates into the main controls, and off to Renaissance Italy the trio went.


	4. Left-handed mirror writing

**AN: Chapter four is written! Alright, I won't keep you too long. I'll put another AN at the end of the chapter for you all.**

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_"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself." William Faulkner_

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It didn't take long for the WABAC to arrive outside da Vinci's home. As soon as the time machine had landed, Mr. Peabody, Sherman, and Liesel all got dressed in period clothes, and then up the hill to the large italian villa the trio went. As soon as they entered, da Vinci was coming to greet them.

"Ah, Mr. Peabody, Sherman, and- who's this, Peabody?" Leonardo asked, sporting a heavy accent.

"Leonardo da Vinci, meet, Liesel Wilson." Mr. Peabody said. da Vinci chuckled, and shook Liesel's hand.

"I did not know that Sherman had a sister." He remarked. Liesel uncomfortably cleared her throat.

"Umm, actually, I'm not related to Sherman. I'm just staying with him and Mr. Peabody indefinitely." Liesel clarified. da Vinci nodded, understanding.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, signorina." He told Liesel. She nodded, and replied,

"It's a pleasure meeting you too, mr. da Vinci."

Eventually, Mr. Peabody asked Sherman if he could give a tour of Leonardo's workshop to Liesel, knowing the polymath wouldn't mind. In fact, the man seemed to enjoy the presence of children, especially Sherman. While the two younglings were exploring da Vinci's home, Leonardo and Peabody conversed. Eventually, the subject turned to Liesel.

"Are you sure they are not related, Peabody?" da Vinci asked. Mr. Peabody had to admit, he'd never dreamt up the possibility of Liesel and Sherman being from the same family. He hated to admit the fact, but in the past he had thought if he ever met Sherman's parents, they would be very, dare he think, idiotic people who didn't know the value of one's own child, but seeing Liesel, and knowing the few facts she'd mentioned of her own mother, he thought that if da Vinci was right, then he'd regret what he'd once thought of his son's biological parents.

"I never quite realized it could be a possibility, but as far as I'm aware, they are not family." Peabody admitted to his friend. "Why, might I ask, did you believe them to be brother and sister?"

"Well, I thought they looked a bit alike. You may not notice it now, but it seems they share some feature. They even have the same hair." This fact stumped Peabody. He'd noticed how Liesel and Sherman were both red heads, but he didn't see any other immediate similarities that would suggest a biological relationship. They didn't seem to have identical facial features, Liesel, unlike Sherman, didn't have the need for glasses, her accent was different... There were a number of differences in the two children.

Mr. Peabody was interrupted from further thought when he heard Liesel on the other side of the room ask,

"What's this, mr. da Vinci?" Leonardo and Peabody walked over to where Liesel and Sherman were. They found that the girl was admiring one of da Vinci's notebooks, and Leonardo chuckled.

"Just some ideas I wrote down. Nothing big." He assured Liesel. The girl, on the other hand, recognized the scribblings as something she'd seen in a textbook before, what was it called.

"Isn't this left-handed mirror writing?" Liesel asked. Leonardo chuckled again.

"It is, yes." He told her.

"Do you think you can teach me to write like this?" She asked. Leonardo looked back at Peabody, who gave a thumbs up.

"Of course you can give it a try. Sherman, what do you think?" Mr. Peabody said.

"It looks all, backwards." Sherman said, as Leonardo brought out some small mirrors.

"That's because you use a mirror to write." Liesel explained. Sherman's eyebrows furrowed.

"Why would you need a mirror to write with?" He asked.

"Because some people use their left hand to write, Sherman." Mr. Peabody said. Liesel and Leonardo nodded.

"People who are left-handed tend to come up with ways to try and avoid getting ink all over their hands." Liesel said. "When you write left-handed, your hand smudges over what you've already written. It takes forever to clean. Trust me."

After a bit more explaining and question answering, Sherman and Liesel received a lesson in left-handed mirror writing. Liesel was doing pretty well after the first few tries, but Sherman gave up fifteen minutes in, finding it hard, being right-handed rather than left like Liesel and Leonardo.

After about an hour of writing, Mr. Peabody decided it was time to go home. They'd been in Renaissance Italy for almost three hours, and tomorrow they'd be going to a few different stores to make sure Liesel had necessary things like clothing. He also wanted to make sure Liesel and Sherman went to bed early after their long day.

With a final goodbye to mr. da Vinci, Mr. Peabody and his young charges were inside the WABAC, heading back home to New York.

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**Okay, other AN: Had a snow day yesterday, and I finished the writing the fifth chapter, so I published this one today. I've also started writing the sixth chapter, so I'll try to update as soon as I can.**

**In other news, a lot of you have been asking for some father/daughter fluff between Mr. Peabody and Liesel. tried with the fifth chapter, I really did, but I'm about 99% sure it isn't actually fluff. Oh well.**

**And, I will give you a brief description of the contents of the next chapter; Liesel gets into a bit of trouble at school, and Mr. Peabody talks to hr about it. And before you ask, she did not bite anyone, nor did she resort to violence.**

**So, don't forget to read and review, also, poll on my profile for the choices of new names for this fic.**


	5. The DoctorDonna Reaction

About two weeks after Mr. Peabody became Liesel's foster father, on October the 11th, came what Mr. Peabody, Sherman, and Liesel would all come to know as the first DoctorDonna incident.

The day had started out normally enough. Mr. Peabody and Sherman would drop Liesel off at school, as Mr. Peabody had enrolled her in the Susan B. Anthony school, the same school he was thinking of putting Sherman into the following September.

Liesel had been eager to go back to school, and as Mr. Peabody had noticed, she was a very focussed and intelligent young girl who was eager to learn as much as she could. She'd gotten her uniform the week before, and she'd gotten a new backpack too, and she kept her three Philip Pullman books inside it at all times.

At the end of her first week, all seemed well. Liesel had made acquaintances with four girls in the grade below her, and they spent their lunch times talking and laughing. Her seventh grade english class had also started a novel the day she arrived, the Book Thief, and if it had been up to her, Liesel might have already finished it.

Of course, at the end of her first week, trouble began. Two boys in her class had noticed a couple of similarities between the Liesel Wilson who'd just joined their class, and the main character of the book, Liesel Meminger. The first similarity was obviously the name. Second was that they were both foster kids, they both kept in touch with their biological mother, and they'd both recently ended up in a new foster home. The evidence was there, but they shouldn't have based their judgement on a fictional character in a book set in World War 2 Germany.

At lunch on the fateful Friday, the two boys walked into the lunchroom. They spotted Liesel almost instantly; it was hard to miss her orange ponytail and colourful hair bows. They walked over to the table nearest where she and her friends sat, and waited patiently until they would get up.

Liesel's friends were all as unique and as odd as she was. Aurora was a young Asian girl with a younger autistic sister and parents who owned a Chinese restaurant called the Bamboo Gardens. Melissa was so skinny she could be compared to a tooth pick, much to her own displeasure. Evelyn was a fair skinned girl with long, wavy brown hair who always had her nose in a book, and who would constantly ask her friends for their leftovers. Finally there was Jocelyn, who had five sisters and a brother, and just like Liesel had ginger hair that was so bright it was almost orange.

The five girls ate their lunch, and afterwards decided to go to what they had begun to call "the window". It was a large window that started about two feet above the floors and went up to the ceiling, and had a nice view of the playground behind the school, where the younger children frequented, and sometimes some older kids too.

Just as they passed by the table where the two boys had sat down at to go to their hangout, one of them grabbed Liesel's book out of her hands, and held it up where she couldn't reach it. Liesel Wilson was rather short for her age, after all, and the boys were both taller than her.

"Hey, Saumench, can't you read yet?" The first boy, Justin, asked. Liesel knew he was just picking on her because he thought she was the same as the character from their English novel, but the comment still hurt.

"Give it back!" She cried. Justin gave the other boy, Jordan, the book, and he flipped to a random page.

"Oh, listen to this, Justin." Jordan said, and read a few lines from the Golden Compass. They both laughed, and Jordan kept the book out of Liesel's reach.

"How stupid is this stuff. This is trash. But I'll tell you what," Justin said, holding the book over the trash can where all the compost went. "I'll get rid of it for you!" He dropped it in, and by now, some sixth and seventh graders had all gathered to see what was going on, and some eighth graders were cheering for a fight. Instead, Liesel pushed past the crowd, and ran down the hallways, past a teacher who told her to stop running, and out the front door of the school. She didn't stop there, and kept running for a block before her rush of adrenalin finally wore off, and she was tired of running.

Liesel had run away so fast she hadn't seen Jocelyn slap Justin and Jordan silly, or Evelyn put down her book to help Melissa dig out the Philip Pullman novel from the compost, or Aurora run off to get Principal Purdy. In fact, she wasn't aware of anything that was going on until two teachers had her in the back of a car and on the way back to Susan B. Anthony's.

When Liesel got back, Jocelyn was sitting in a detention chair, Evelyn and Melissa tried to comfort her, and Aurora was with a teacher cleaning off Liesel's book. Liesel herself was crying, worried one of the few things her mother had given her was ruined. Lucky for her, though, it had been wraps for lunch that day, so minus a bit of mayonnaise on the side, about a half centimetre torn of the front cover, and some carrot shavings in between some of the pages, her book was fine, and that made Liesel feel better.

After a while, all of Liesel's friends had to go to class, except Jocelyn, who still had a detention after hitting the two boys. Around a quarter to two in the afternoon, the door to the principal's office opened up and Mr. Peabody came out. Liesel tried sinking back into her seat, but Mr. Peabody gently took her hand in his paw and led her out to his moped, and before she knew it Liesel and Mr. Peabody were back at the penthouse.

When they got there, Mr. Peabody paid the babysitter he'd gotten for Sherman when the school had called. Sherman said hi to Liesel, who meekly waved back and kept going towards her bedroom. Sherman frowned, but said nothing.

Once back inside her room, Liesel changed into a pair of black yoga pants and an orange tee shirt before settling down at the desk underneath the loft.

Liesel's bedroom was very much like Sherman's room. A loft in the centre of the wall, with a bean bag chair on top of it, but her's was purple instead of blue. She also had her bed in another corner of the room as opposed to under the loft. On her desk was a computer, much like the one in Sherman's room, and she even had a nice bookshelf next to her little loft, but there weren't any books in it because Liesel only had three: the Golden Compass, the Subtle Knife, and the Amber Spyglass, all by Philip Pullman.

Another similarity in the children's bedrooms were the maps. Sherman had many maps in his room, from places like Italy and France and even Canada. Liesel had maps like these too. Liesel's favourite was that of Canada, having been born there, and she had it on a cork board with multiple pins stuck into it, mostly in the Nova Scotia area, and there was a small paper underneath the map that held the answer to the locations and relevances of the pins. Sherman had helped her put the map on her cork board, and when she placed the pins in certain locations he had curiously asked her why. Liesel had explained to him that the places where the pins were placed were places that had been important to her before she came to New York.

While Sherman had posted many of his own pictures and drawings around his bedroom, Liesel only had three posters on her wall; one of Minecraft that Mr. Peabody had allowed her to choose (with Sherman's help, of course), and two Doctor Who posters, one of his first eleven incarnations that was half torn down the middle, and one with a picture of the Eleventh Doctor that read "Things I Learned From Doctor Who", with a list of many funny advices from the modern series.

Liesel had gotten lost in thought as she sat down at her desk, writing a letter to her mother, so much so that she'd failed to hear Mr. Peabody enter her bedroom, or even walk up to her until he gently placed his paw on her shoulder. The action had startled Liesel, and she dropped her pen in her moment of panic, and causing the tip to trace a long line across the paper. Turning, Liesel managed to contain her fear when she noticed it was only Mr. Peabody.

"You scared me." Liesel said, breathing deeply.

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, I was just wondering what had happened at school today. What really happened?" Mr. Peabody asked. He had simply been told there had been two boys talking to Liesel, and then she took off running.

"Well, the two boys came up to me and took my book away, and started calling me stupid and a Saumench and wouldn't leave me alone." She said, not looking up from her hands in her lap.

"Why would they do such things?" Mr. Peabody asked, wondering why in the world two boys would call another child a name in German.

"Because in our English class, we're reading the Book Thief, and some of the students noticed the similarities between Liesel Meminger and I." Mr. Peabody cringed. He'd read the Book Thief himself, but teasing a child because they were similar to a fictional character didn't seem right. "And then, they threw one of my books into the compost, like it was trash, and I just kinda went into my basic instincts. It was fight or flight for me, always has been. I could be like the Doctor or I could be like Donna. I could hurt them, or I could run."

"And you made the right choice by not fighting." Mr. Peabody reassured her. "Although, next time, try not to run a block and a half away from your school."

Liesel chuckled a bit, and muttered, "No promises," but Mr. Peabody could tell she would try. After a few moments, Liesel turned and picked up her pen again, and resumed her scribbling. Mr. Peabody looked over her shoulder, and noticed what she was writing. He smiled to himself.

"Who are you writing to, Liesel?" He asked. Liesel turned to face him again, this time keeping the pen in her hand.

"My mom. She and I always write to each other, and I thought I'd send her a letter to tell her where I am and to make sure she had the new address." Liesel explained.

"Well that's nice. You seem to regard your mother very much. Could you tell me a bit about her?" Mr. Peabody asked. Liesel nodded.

"Well, her name is Sarah. Sarah Wilson. She lives in Church Point, Nova Scotia, also known as Clare, and she's really nice. She's young, and she's really kind, and just a wonderful person. I've never known anyone as nice as her before I came here." Liesel explained. "She's got red hair like me, but a bit darker, and brown eyes. She doesn't have much money, but she saves as much as she can for me, and she's just an easy person to like." Mr. Peabody smiled. This was the most information he'd received as of yet of Liesel's mother, and by how she was described, he had to admit, she sounded very wonderful.

"She sounds fantastic Liesel. Now, I'll leave you to finish writing your letter, and go make dinner. Alright?" Liesel nodded, and Mr. Peabody made his way to the door. Just as he was about to leave, a voice stopped him.

"Mr. Peabody, is it okay if I tell my mom about you and Sherman?" Liesel asked. Mr. Peabody turned and smiled at the teen.

"Of course, Liesel. Go ahead." He said, and left the thirteen year old to finish her letter.


	6. AN- Important

AN: Sorry everyone, for not updating sooner. I know this isn't a real chapter, but the next time I update it will be replacing this AN.

I suppose I owe everyone an explanation as to why I haven't updated in so long. I'm a dancer, in two different groups, and although it doesn't seem like much, it's been taking a lot of my time this month. i'd originally started writing the next chapter to post it, when I hit a short bout of writer's block. Albeit, by the time it had subsided, I was caught up in Lyrical and Hip Hop. Between dress rehearsals, group photos, recitals at the local university, and preparing for the BATD dance competition in Halifax next weekend, I've been too caught up to finish the next chapter. I hope you can forgive me, and I'll publish the chapter as soon as I can.


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